Function

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Google Sheets currently has 512 documented functions and numerous undocumented functions. Functions are comprised of primitive functions, LAMBDA functions, and operators. Functions form the foundation of expression syntax and are used to manipulate, transform, and compute data.

Alongside operators and LAMBDA expressions, functions are one of three primary callable terms in Sheets.

Generally speaking, most advanced users learn functions through one of two methods. The first is by by raw experience. The second, championed by Matt King, involves going through the full list of functions and trying to understand each one.

Function Categories

Category	Description
Primitive functions	Built-in Sheets functions such as SUM, FILTER, or VLOOKUP.
LAMBDA functions	User-defined callable terms created using LAMBDA, MAP, REDUCE, and related constructs.
Operators	Symbolic primitives (e.g., +, -, &) representing shorthand function calls.

Each produces a value when evaluated.

Learning Functions

Advanced users tend to learn functions in two ways:

1. Empirical — through experimentation and formula construction.
2. Systematic — popularized by Matt King, who advocates reviewing the entire function list to understand each function’s scope, typing, and coercion.

Functional Complexity

Functions vary by syntax and conceptual depth. They can be grouped broadly by complexity:

Basic Functions

Operate on simple arguments and return single values.

• SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, COUNT

These are straightforward and easily nested.

Intermediate Functions

Accept or return arrays and often depend on array dimensionality.

• FILTER, SORT, VLOOKUP, INDEX, MATCH

They are central to tabular computation and relational lookups.

Advanced Functions

Use complex syntax or enable extended functionality.

Category	Description
REGEX functions	Pattern matching and text manipulation.
QUERY	SQL-like transformation of tabular data.
LAMBDA	Functional abstraction, recursion, and LAMBDA recursion.
IMPORT functions	Retrieve and process web data.

Function Behavior and Typing

Each function defines its own typing and coercion rules under the broader type system. Examples:

• JOIN(,1,2,3) coerces numeric values to strings.
• FILTER(A1:A,"foo") returns #VALUE! when coercion fails.

Understanding a function requires understanding both its input coercion and output type.

Notes

• Volatile functions (such as RAND) recalculate on every sheet change.

See Also

• Operators — symbolic functions such as +, &, and ^.
• LAMBDA — user-defined function construction.
• Data types and Type Coercion — how functions interpret and convert values.